This is Paul Kuzan's blog covering anything to do with Sylva kit cars.
This site is not affiliated with Sylva Autokits
Opinions expressed here may not be those of Sylva

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Jeremy's new car is causing a bit of a storm in the press. It is really what the kit car industry has been waiting for; traditional in appearance but based on modern mechanicals (no Sierra diffs, gearboxes or uprights here!).

The picture above shows a Riot and a XYZ chassis side by side. As can be seen the ZYX chassis shares critical suspension dimensions with the Riot. However the main difference is the chassis sides, the XYZ are parallel. This will give a more capacious cockpit and allow the fitting of seats from suppliers such as Tillett or JK Composites. Another benefit is the tunnel is slightly wider at the front of the cockpit. This is a blessing as there is not much space in a Riot tunnel.

The XYZ has out-riggers which give enhanced side impact protection and provide mounting points for the body.

So out of the box the XYZ will be endowed the fine handling characteristics of the Riot.

And now for the body. No question this has been influenced by previous JP creations. Being mid-engined, the bonnet can be low and elegant. At the rear, the engine and gearbox are mounted to give sensible ground clearance without the need for expensive sumps or bellhousings.

In case you are wondering, yes this new body can be fitted to existing Riots! Of course you won't get the enhanced cockpit space and you will have to fabricate some outriggers to support the body, but the wheelbase and track are the same.

I will certainly be considering a XYZ body once my Riot SE has been SVA'd.

Jeremy's best? The XYZ chassis weighs slightly more than a Riot, but it will be very strong and roomy.

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Good progress was made over the weekend. As can be seen in the photo above, I have fitted the sender to the fuel tank and mounted the fuel filter. I also have plumbed in the radiator. I have had the hoses for ages but not managed to fit them because I could not finally fit the radiator as I needed something to put in the fan switch hole. I eventually got a switch from eBay. However I have just found out that Moss Europe sell an M22 x 1.5 blanking plug part number RFC014. In the picture you can just see that I have fitted the pedal box cover. This was made possible following the purchase of a rivnut setter. I bought a cheap rivnut tool a while back but it did not last long, the mandrel snapped. This time I bought Gesipa tool that should last a lifetime.

Another job waiting for the rivnut tool was the dash. Just need to fit the instruments and switches.I have ordered a wiring loom from Premier Wiring Systems . I think £120 is good value for a loom with the correct colour wires. They are putting in extra wires and relays for fan, speedo and fuel pump and wiring the hazard switch! I'm going to use microphone cable to extend the Vepor speedo sensor cable. It is a VR sensor so has very low output and is suseptible to interference. Microphone cable is shielded twisted pair with very good noise rejection.

Saturday, October 04, 2008

Friday, October 03, 2008

The master cylinder that Sylva supplies for a Riot originates from a Caterham 7. It is Girling part number 74066147. I am led to believe that is has an 11/16", 17.46 mm bore. Since driving the latest Sylva demonstrator, which is fitted with a Willwood 1" bore master cylinder, I'm keen to increase the master cylinder size as I really liked the feel of the brake pedal. I could just fit the Willwood cylinder, but this means modifying the pedal box, something I'm not keen to do.

I noticed that Caterham supply a 13/16" 20.64 mm bore master cylinder made by AP racing, part number 77176. From the picture below you can just make out that it even has an SVA compliant cap.

The standard master cylinder has an affective bore area of 239.42 and the AP product, 334.63. That is an increase of almost 40%. Sounds perfect! Problem is it is £164.50!

Thursday, October 02, 2008

The picture below shows the Focus exhaust manifold attached to a Sylva silencer as requested.

You may notice the engine now has a fan belt! As the engine is from a Focus, the alternator and tensioner are from a 1250 Fiesta, it's little wonder that neither a Focus or Fiesta belt fits! The crank pulley on the Focus is larger diameter than the Fiesta. I could have changed the pulley but that means redoing the cam timing; the Zetec SE has a keyless crank. So I investigated a different belt. The standard 1250 Fiesta belt is 1181 long. Looking at the Gates catalogue, the most suitable belt would seem to be 6PK1195, 14mm longer. This belt is fitted to BMW 750i and a Fiat Punto 1.9D! It also fits my Riot perfectly.

I'm now working on the fuel tank and pump. Just waiting for some 8mm high pressure in-tank hose to be delivered. This is important as standard fuel hose is designed to convey fuel but not to be fully immersed in it! May have the tank in this weekend!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Above is a pic of the rear of my Riot showing how the silencer with integral cat is mounted (just!). You may notice that I'm not using the Sylva manifold. My engine came from a 1.6 Focus which has a nice 4 into 1 tubular manifold. Ok the plumbing may look like a musical instrument but it will save a bit of money. Another bonus is I'll be able to put my number plate on the engine cover not silencer.

Decision has been made on the instruments; I'm going the ultra budget route. A Vepor dash will handle speedo, tacho and water temp. That will be supplemented with a VDO fuel guage and a Bright 6 LED array (indictors, charge warning, brake warning, main beam, oil pressure) . Thats it!

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Today I managed to get the Riot out of the garage and clean the dust off. As the sun was shining I took a picture just to remind me that it is almost there!

Ok be honest, what do you think about the colour scheme? There are some, who shall remain nameless, who have been far from complimentary! Ok the body should have been Oxford blue.

I need to spend some money! It is a toss up between a tumble dryer and and ECU or DigiDash..... As winter is coming, the dryer may win.

I have been contemplating instruments. As I see it I have 3 choices, DigiDash, Vapor

or discrete VDO instruments as in the Sylva demonstrator. The DigiDash appeals, but at £375 + VAT and delivery, it is a bit expensive. I am tempted to go the budget route and fit a Vapor dash, £60 +VAT from Rally Design. I will need to fit a fuel gauge as well.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

A post is well overdue!

Change of job and lack of disposable income due to work on the house has put a temporary halt to progress on the Riot. Anyway my house now has a beautiful new drive and patio and new drains!I now work for a company called SpringSource as a consultant. They write Spring the open source Java/EE application framework.

Anyway, something top secret! Below is a picture from Jeremy at Sylva. It is a new chassis based on the Riot except it has parallel sides like the Mojo and additional side bracing. It is going to be clothed with an all new body. I think you can guess what the inspiration will be!